Stacking mechanism



Nov. 24, 1942. R. A. WILLIAMS STACKING MECHANISM Filed Aug. 9, 1941 3 SheetsSheet 1 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 R. A. WILLIAMS STACKING MECHANISM Filed Aug. 9, 1941 1- via- Whh Nov- 24, 1942- R. A. WILLIAMS STACKING MECHANISM Filed Aug. 9, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Q: g aez Patented Nov. 24, 1942 ..UNITED STATE s] PATENT OFFICE 4 "s'rAcxrNG MECHANISM Robert Alonzo Williams, Chicago, 11]., assignor to Ditto, Incorporated, Chicago; 111., a corporation vor West Virginia Application August 9, 1941, No. 40 ,209

13 Claims.

This invention relates to counting and unloading tables for. unit strips such as are producedby the machine .of my prior Patent No. 2,238,356, dated April 15, 1941, the present apparatus being designed particularly for use as an extended portion of the machine of the patent. It is the object of the invention to provide an improved arrangement of cooperating parts by which a series ofproducts such as the units produced by said patented, machine or of any'apther suitable type may be taken one at a time and stacked into successive piles of a predetermined number of products, each on a table or conveyor, the completed Dile being moved out of the, way in each instance to make room forithe'next succeeding pile.

In the preferred form of the invention, an endless conveyor i employedfor ror receiving the successive stacks of unit strips, means being provided for lowering the receiving end of the conveyor progressively as the stack is formed. After Referring now to the several flguresof the drawings, in which corresponding parts are indi- .cated by the .same reference characters, "indicam I2 is fixedly mounted thereon adapted to engage a roller I3 rotatably mounted on a. pivotally mounted arm I4 so as to give the arm a the completion of each stack of units, automatically acting means serves to give the conveyor a single step of forward movement corresponding substantially to the size of the unit strips being stacked so as to provide a clear space on the conveyor for receiving the next succeeding pile of units. At substantially the same time when the conveyor is being advanced, the. receiving end portion of the conveyor is moved upwardly to its uppermost receiving position for the'start of the next pile of units. A novel form of clutch means is provided for controlling the action of the mechanism for raising and advancing the conveyor. L

It is another object of this invention to improve machines of this type in sundry details hereinafter pointed out. The preferred means by which the several objects have been attained are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is a side face view of an improved machine embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 i a longitudinal vertical sectional view through the machine, taken substantially at the Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken substantially at the line 5-5 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a horizontal sectional view taken sub-' stantially at the line 6-6 of Fig. 7; and

Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional view taken stantially at the line 1-1 of Fig. 3.

sub-

downward stroke upon each revolution of the shaft. The arm I4 is preferably in the form of a channel, being pivoted imposition by means of a transverse bar I5. At its free end, the arm ll carries a crossbar it, having links H connected therewith at their lower ends and connected at their upper ends with a bar l8 as shown in Fig. 3

for operating acuttingblade l9.

At opposite sides of the machine, standards 20 and 2| of a secondaryframeworkare connected with the framework II), as is best shown in Fig. 2, such standards being connected by sid bars 22 with other standards 23, brace bars 24 being secured in oblique position for reinforcing the structure. Upon the secondary framework, an endless conveyor 25 is mounted by means of rollers 26 and 21, the roller 21 being supported on the standards 23 by means of a shaft 28, while the roller 26 is supported by means of a shaft .29

mounted on the upper ends of slide bars 30 rigproduced by the machine. This means comprises a suction device 33 of any suitable type operated through the medium of a lever 34 and a cooperating lever or link 35, by which the assemblies are moved into position above the rear end of the conveyor one at a time and there released so as to produce a pile or stack of the assemblies, the rear end portion of the conveyor (at the left in Fig. 1) being moved downwardly progressively as the machine operates for expediting the stacking of the assemblies. At predetermined intervals, the conveyor is brought back to its normal raised position and is given a forward movement to-v ward the right in Fig. 1 so as to provide room on the conveyor for the production of the next succeeding pile of the assemblies.

The means for moving the rear end portion of the conveyor 26 progressively downwardly comprises a shaft 66 which is driven by power from the shaft'l l. During the normal operation of the machine at the time when a pile of the unit strip assemblies is being built up on the conveyor 26. the shaft 66 is driven intermittently by the shaft H by means of one set of driving connections. serving at this time to draw the rear end of the conveyor 26 downwardly. When a pile of the assemblies has been completed, an alternative set of driving means is thrown into operation for driving the shaft 66 from the shaft serving under these circumstances to return the conveyor by a quick movement to its raised position and to advancethe conveyor with the completed pile of assemblies thereon so as to make room for the production of another stack of assemblies on the'conveyor.

The means for driving the shaft 66 intermittently from the shaft comprises a link 61 connected with the shaft eccentrically thereof by means of a pin 66, the opposite end of the link being pivotally connected with an arm 66 swingingly mounted on the shaft 66, a pawl 46 being pivotally mounted between the link and the arm in position to engage a ratchet wheel 4| fixedly mounted on the shaft 66. The arrangement is such that upon each revolution of the shaft II the pawl 40 gives the shaft 66 a slight rotary movement in counter clockwise direction in Fig. 1.

Means is provided for connecting the shaft 66 effectively .with the crossbar 6| for moving such crossbar downwardly. This means comprises pinions 42 fixedly mounted on said shaft 66, meshing with gears 4-6 which are rotatably mounted on the standards 26 and 2|. Each of the gears 46 is provided on its inner face with a' pair of spaced undercut guides 44 between which a slide block 46 is slidably mounted, the arrangement being such that the blocks 46 are held rigidly in any desired adjusted position along the guides by meansof set-screws 46 which are capable of being tightened against the faces of the gears 46, as is clearly shown in Fig. 5. The set-screws 46 serve also as means for pivotally connecting links 41 with the blocks 46, the links 41 being adjustably connected at their upper ends with the crossbar 6| so as to lift the rear end portion of the conveyor 26.

With the shaft 66 being given slight rocking movements intermittently in counterclockwise direction in Fig. 4 through the medium of the pawl 46 so as to rotate the gears 46 in clockwise direction in said figure, and with the blocks 46 connected in eccentric position with respect to said gears 46, the links 41 are given successive downward movements for moving the rear end portion of the conveyor 26 downwardly intermittently as a pile of unit strip assemblies is built up on the conveyor. The extent of movement of the conveyor downwardly is controlled by an adjustment of the eccentricity of the blocks 46 through the medium of the set-screws 46, so that the movement of the conveyor can be regulated to correspond to the thickness of the successive unit strip assemblies.

The means for driving the shaft 66 by power from the shaft II by the alternative set of driving means and for raising and advancing the conveyor comprises a shaft 48 rotatably mounted between the standards 26 and 2| immediately below the shaft 66 and directly in front of the shaft I. A sprocket pinion 46 fixedly mounted on said shaft 46 is connected by a sprocket chain 66 with a sprocket gear 6| loosely mounted on the shaft H, as is clearly shown in Fig. 6. This gear 6| is arranged to serve as a member of a clutch by which the gear can be connected with the shaft To this end, the gear 6| has a pin 62 slidably mounted therein, a coiled spring 66 being provided bearing on the gear and the pin for applying yielding pressure on the pinfor holding its end portion projected beyond the face of the gear into position to engage a cooperating clutch member 64 having a notch 66 in its face for re-' ceiving the end of the pin therein. The clutch member 64 is provided with a set-screw 66 for securing the member adjustably in fixed position on the shaft Below the'shaft two pivotally connected links 61 and 66 are mounted, the link 61 being pivotally-mounted on the crossbar i6 and the link 66 being pivotally mounted on the shaft 46. A spring 66 normally holds the arm 61 in its raised position, with a roller 66 rotatably mounted on the arm engaging a bearing member 6| in the form of a large rollercarried by the gear 6|. The connections for the links 61 and 66 are loose enough to permit the arms to move downwardly to a slight extent against the action of the spring 66 for carrying the arm 61 out of engagement with the pin 62 so as to permit the pin to bepro- -Jected into operative position by the spring 66.

When the arm 61 is lowered, the pin 62 engages the notch 66 so as to cause'the gear 6| to rotate with the clutch member and the shaft When thereafter the arm 61 is moved upwardly again by the spring 66, the head ofthe pin 62 engages an obliquely positioned face portion 62 of the arm so as to force the pin lengthwise against the action of the spring 66 out of engagement with the notch 66.

The connecting means through which a connection is established between the shafts 46 and 66 comprises a pinion 66 fixedly mounted on the shaft 46 and meshing with a gear 64 which is rotatably mounted on the shaft 66. When the shaft 46 is driven by power from the shaft in clockwise direction in Fig. 7, the gear 64 is driven in counterclockwise direction in said figure, serving through a ratchet wheel 66 and a pawl 66 to cause the shaft 66 to rotate also in counterclockwise direction, the ratchet wheel being fixedly mounted on the shaft 66 and the pawl 66 being pivotally mounted on the gear 64. A spring 61 holds the pawl 66 normally in engagement with the ratchet wheel.

When the shaft 66 is being driven in counterclockwise direction in Fig. 1 from the shaft through the medium of the ratchet wheel 4| and the pawl 46, the pawl 66 yields for permitting such rotation of the shaft 66 without correspondingly rotating the gear 64. When on the other hand the shaft 66 is being driven in said counterclockwise direction in Fig. 1 from the shaft through the medium of the sprocket chain 60 and the pawl 66 as above described. the pawl 40 yields for permitting such rotation without putting any strain on the link 61 and its cooperating parts.

For bringing about an effective operation of I the clutch comprising the pin 62 in the desired timed relation, an arm 66 is mounted rigidly on the arm 66 so as to extend about in front of the pinion 66 and thence upwardly in rear of s,sos,1se the shaft 34, being provided at its upper end withthat when the pin in the rotation 'of the gear 43 in clockwise direction in Fig. 4 comes into engagement with the pin 69 the arm 58 is forced downwardly, serving to move the arm '5'! also downwardly for causing the clutch to be thrown into, operation. The gear 43 is then driven through the chain 50 and its. cooperating parts including the pawl so as to carrythe pin 10 quickly out of engagement with the pin 69, where-'- upon the arm I! quickly moves upwardly into position to throw the pin 52 out of operative engagement with the notch 55 of the clutch member 54 as soon as said pin 52 engages the obliquely positioned face, portion 62 of said arm- 51. c

As will be readily understood, when the gears 43 are being driven in clockwise direction in Fig. 4 by the clutch mechanism and its cooperating parts, such gears 43 serve through the links 41 to raise the slide bars 30 for carrying the rear end portion of the conveyor again to its uppermost operative position substantially-as shown in Fig. 2. At the same time, the shaft 48 rotating in unison with the shaft serves through a sprocket gear II, a chain 12, and a, sprocketgear 13 to move the top ply of the conveyor belt 25 a short distance toward the right in Fig. 1 for moving the pile of unit strip assemblies out of the way for permitting the formation of a new pile.

The arrangement is such that the clutch com prising the pin 52 is thrown into operation in every instance when the pin 10 on the gear 43 is broughtto its lowermost position. This insures that the conveyor is moved downwardly by intermittent movements through the medium of the link 31 and pawl 40 and is given a quick upward movement through the medium of the clutch as above described. The timing'of the action of the clutch is thus controlled by the rotation of the gear 43 which in turn is con trolled by the relative sizes of the pinion 42 and the gear 43. These parts are preferably of such relative size as to insure that the gears 43 shallbe given one complete revolution for every twenty-five revolutions of the shaft ll. Since a unit strip assembly is delivered at each revolution of the shaft II, it will be appreciated that each of the piles of assemblies will contain twenty-five units, under the conditions specifled. If a different size of gear 43 andpinion 42 are employed, so as to change the relative sizes of these parts and thus change the number of units in the individual piles, the uniformity in size and in the number of the units will nevertheless be maintained from one pile to the next during normal operation of the machine.

While the form and arrangement of the parts as-illustrated are preferred, the invention is not to be limited thereto except as the claims may be so limited. it being understood that changes might well be made in the form and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim: y

1. In a stacking mechanism, the combination of a conveyor of a length for receiving a plurality of articles in spaced relation along the conveyor and movable both horizontally and vertically in position to receive a series of articles completed so as to make way for subsequent piles,

means forgiving the conveyor successive downward movements at intervals for keeping the top face of a growing pile of articles at substantially the same height, and means thrown into operation when the conveyor reaches a predetermined lowered position to give the conveyor a return movement upwardly.

2. In a stacking mechanism, the combination of aconveyor of a length for receiving a plurality of articles in spaced relation along the conveyor and movable both horizontally and vertically in position to receive a series of articles one at a time for arrangement in piles thereon and adapted to carry each pile forwardly when completed so as 'to make way for subsequent piles, means for giving the conveyor successive downward movements at intervals forkeeping the top face of a growing pile of articles at substan-' tially the same height, and means adapted when the conveyor has been given a predetermined number of downward movements to give the conveyor a forward movement horizontally for providing room for the succeeding pile in backwardly spaced relation to the first-mentioned pile and at the same time to return the conveyor to its uppermost raised position for start ing the next pile. I i

3. In a stacking mechanism, the combination of a conveyor of a length for receiving a plurality of articles in spaced relation along the conveyor and movable both horizontally and vertically in position to receive'a series of articles one at a time for arrangement in piles thereon and adapted to carry eachpile forwardly when completed so as to make way for subsequent piles, means for giving the conveyor'successive down ward movements at intervals as said articles are delivered to the conveyor, means for adjusting the-action of said means for moving the conveyor downwardly so as to make each downward movement correspond with the thickness of one of said articles and thus to keep the top face of the growing pile of articles at substantially the same height, and means adapted when the conveyor has been given a predetermined number of downward movements to give the conveyor upward and forward movements into position to receive the next pile of articles.

4. In a stacking mechanism, the combination of a conveyor movable both horizontally and vertically in position to receivea series of articles one at a time for arrangement in piles thereon and adapted to carry each pile forwardly when completed so as to make way for subsequent piles, means comprising a rotatably mounted member adapted at one portion of each revolution to move the conveyor downwardly and adapted at the remaining portion of each revolution to return the conveyor to'its raised position, driving means for giving said member a step by step movement through theportion of the revolution by which the conveyor is moved downwardly, other driving means for giving said member a comparatively much quicker movement through theportion of the revolution by which the con veyor is moved upwardly, and means actuated in timed relation to the operation of the ma chine for shifting periodically from one driving means to the other.

5. In a stacking mechanism, the combination of a conveyor movable both horizontally and the conveyor is moved upwardly.

vertically in position to receive a series of articles one at a time for arrangement in piles thereon and adapted to carry each pile forwardly whencompleted so as to make way for subsequent piles',

means comprising a rotatably mounted member adapted at one portion of each revolution to move the conveyor downwardly and adapted at .the remaining portion of each revolution to reportion of the revolution by which the conveyor is moved downwardly, and means comprising a clutch automatically thrown into operation when a pile is completed for moving said member through the portion of the revolution by whic 6. In a stacking mechanism, the combination of a conveyor movable both horizontally and vertically in position to receive a series of articles one at a time for arrangement in piles thereon, means comprising a rotatably mounted member adapted at one portion of each revolution to move the conveyor downwardly and adapted at the remaining portion of each revolution to return the conveyor to its raised position and to give the conveyor a slight movement forwardly for providing room for the succeeding pile,-

means for giving said member a step by step movement through the portion of its revolution by which the conveyor is moved downwardly, and means comprising a clutch automatically thrown into operation at the completion of each pile in' tum for giving said member a comparatively much quicker movement through the portion of the revolution by which the conveyor is moved upwardly and forwardly.

'7. In a stacking mechanism, the combination of a frame, two rollers rotatably mounted on said frame in horizontally spaced relation to each other with one of said rollers movable vertically on the frame, an endless belt conveyor on said rollers in position to receive a series of articles one at a time for arrangement in piles on the conveyor and adapted to carry each pile for wardly when completed so as to make way for subsequent piles. a member rotatably mounted on said frame below said vertically movable roller, a link pivotally connected between said rotatable member and said movable roller and adjustable radially with respect to said rotatable member for controlling its eccentricity with respect thereto, means forgiving said rotatable member a step by step movement through a portion of each revolution for moving the conveyor downwardly, and means for giving said rotatable member a comparatively much quicker movement through the remaining portion of each revolution-for moving the conveyor upwardly.

8. In a stacking mechanism, the combination of a conveyor movable vertically in position to receive a series of articles one at a time for arrangement in piles thereon and adapted to carry each pile forwardly when completed so as of the rotatable member by said pawl and ratchet mechanism and adjustable toward and from the axis of said rotatable member for varying the extent of vertical movement of the conveyor said conveyor, means comprising a pawl and ratchet mechanism for giving said rotatable member a slight rotary movement upon each delivery of an article to the conveyor for stacking, connections between said rotatable member and said conveyor for giving said conveyor a slight downward movement upon each actuation of the rotatable member by said pawl and ratchet mechanism and adjustable toward and from the axis of said rotatable member for varying the extent of vertical movement of the conveyor thereby, and other means comprising a clutch mechanism actuated automatically when a predetermined number of articles have been stacked in a pile for moving the conveyor upwardly to its raised position and actuated automatically at the end of the upward movement of the conveyor for opening the clutch.

10. In a stacking mechanism, the combination of a conveyor movable vertically in position to receive a series of articles one at a time for arrangement in piles thereon and adapted to carry each pile forwardly when completed so as to make way for subsequent piles, a shaft, means actuated by the rotation of said shaft for moving said conveyor vertically, a second shaft rotating first-named shaft alternatively by power from said second shaft independently of said firstnamed driving means and arranged for permitting said second shaft to be driven by the firstnamed pawl and ratchet mechanism without undue strain on said second-named driving means.

11. In a stacking mechanism, the combination of a, conveyor movable vertically in position to receive a series of articles one at a time for arrangement in piles thereon and adapted to carry each pile forwardly when completed so as to make way for subsequent piles, a shaft, means actuated by the rotation of said shaft for moving said conveyor vertically, a second shaft rotating in timed relation to the delivery 01' articles to said conveyor, means comprising a pawl and ratchet mechanism for driving said first-named shaft intermittently by power from said second shaft and arranged for permitting said second shaft to be driven in the same direction independently of said pawl and ratchet mechanism, means comprising a clutch and a second pawl and ratchet mechanism for driving said firstnamed shaft alternatively by power from said effective for moving the conveyor downwardly and causing the second-named driving means to be effective for moving the conveyor upwardly.

12. In a stacking mechanism, the combination of a conveyor movable vertically in position to receive a series of articles one at a time for arrangement in piles thereon and adapted to carry each pile forwardly when completed so as to make way for subsequent piles, a shaft, means actuated by the'rotation of said shaft for moving said conveyor vertically, a second shaft rotating in timed relation to the delivery of articles to said conveyor, means comprising a pawl and ratchet mechanism for driving said first-named shaft intermittently by power from said second shaft and arranged for permitting said second shaft to be driven in the same direction independently of said pawl and ratchet mechanism, means comprising a clutch and a second pawl and ratchet mechanism for driving said firstnamed shaft alternatively by power from said second shaft independently of said first-named driving means and arranged for permitting said second shaft to be driven by the first-named pawl and ratchet mechanism without undue strain on said first-named driving means, means comprising an arm swingingly mounted adjacent to said clutch mechanism adapted on a movement of the arm away from the clutch to throw the clutch into effective operation for moving the conveyor upwardly and adapted on a movement of the arm thereafter toward the clutch to. throw the clutch out of effective operation, and means controlled by the movement of the conveyor downwardly for giving said arm a stroke away from the clutch when a predetermined number of articles have been delivered to the conveyor for stacking.

13. In a stacking mechanism, the combination of a conveyor movable vertically in position to receive a series of articles one at a time for arrangement in piles thereon and adapted to carry each pile forwardly when completed so as to make Way for subsequent piles, a shaft, means comprising rotatable members at opposite sides of the machine actuated by the rotation of said shaft for moving said conveyor vertically, a

, second shaft rotating in timed relation to the delivery of articles to said conveyor, means comprising a pawl and ratchet mechanism for driving said first-named shaft intermittently by power from said second shaft and arranged for permitting said second shaft to be driven in the same direction independently of said pawl and ratchet mechanism, means comprising a clutch and a second pawl and ratchet mechanism for driving said first-named shaft alternatively by power from said second shaft independently of said first-named driving means and arranged for permitting said second shaft to be driven by the first-named pawl and ratchet mechanism without undue strain on said second-named driving means, means comprising an arm swingingly mounted adjacent to said clutch mechanism adapted on a movement of the arm away from the clutch to throw the clutch into effective operation for moving the conveyor upwardly and adapted on a subsequent movement of the arm toward the clutch to throw the clutch out of 

